The introduction of the Threads app by Meta has sparked extensive discussions and debates regarding the privacy of users who create accounts and sign up on the platform.
The recently launched Threads app by Meta, positioned as an alternative to Twitter, has received criticism from notable individuals in society for allegedly infringing upon user privacy by compelling them to share a diverse range of data. One of the app’s critics is Jack Dorsey, former CEO and co-founder of Twitter, who has expressed concerns over Threads’ extensive privacy policies.
According to details provided in Apple’s App Store, the app collects a broad array of personal data tied to individual users, including purchase history, physical address, browsing history, and even health information.
In addition to collecting general data, the application also requests access to certain “sensitive data” such as racial or ethnic information, sexual orientation, details related to pregnancy or childbirth, disability status, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, political opinions, genetic information, and biometric data.
It is worth noting that the privacy guidelines and policies of the Threads app closely resemble those of other applications owned and operated by Meta, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
In this article, we will analyze and compare the privacy policies of the Threads app with its competitors, including Twitter, Bluesky, Mastodon.
Threads App Privacy Policy and Usage of User Data
Threads app utilizes various categories of user data for different purposes. These categories include data linked to the user, third-party advertising, developer’s advertising or marketing, analytics, product personalization, app functionality, and other purposes.
In terms of third-party advertising, it collects data related to purchases, financial information, location (both precise and coarse), contact information (physical address, email address, name, phone number, and other user contact info), contacts, user-generated content (photos, videos, gameplay content, and other user content), search history, browsing history, identifiers (user ID, device ID), usage data (product interaction, advertising data, and other usage data), diagnostics (crash data, performance data, and other diagnostic data), and other data.
For developer’s advertising or marketing, similar data points are collected, including purchases, financial information, location, contact information, contacts, user-generated content, search history, browsing history, identifiers, usage data, diagnostics, and other data.
Analytics usage involves health and fitness information, purchases, financial information, location, contact information, contacts, user-generated content (photos, videos, audio data, gameplay content, customer support, and other user content), search history, browsing history, identifiers, usage data, sensitive information, diagnostics, and other data.
Product personalization relies on data such as purchases, financial information, location, contact information, contacts, user-generated content, search history, browsing history, identifiers, usage data, sensitive information, diagnostics, and other data.
App functionality utilizes health and fitness data, purchases, financial information (payment info, credit info, and other financial info), location, contact information, contacts, user-generated content (emails or text messages, photos or videos, audio data, gameplay content, customer support, and other user content), search history, browsing history, identifiers, usage data, sensitive information, diagnostics, and other data.
Lastly, for other purposes, Threads collects data encompassing purchases, financial information, location, contact information, contacts, user-generated content (photos, videos, gameplay content, customer support, and other user content), search history, browsing history, identifiers, usage data, diagnostics, and other data.
Twitter data usage policy

When it comes to Twitter, the giant in the microblogging and social networking realm, the social media company, currently owned by the multi-billionaire Elon Musk, collects a substantial amount of user data, which is quite similar to the data collected by the new Threads app. Therefore, criticizing the Threads app while being on Twitter can be seen as hypocritical in many respects.
Twitter also uses user data for different purposes. The data used to track users include purchases, location information (both precise and coarse), email addresses, user-generated content, browsing history, identifiers such as user ID and device ID, and usage data related to product interaction and advertising.
Data linked to users is utilized for third-party advertising, developer’s advertising or marketing, analytics, and product personalization. This includes data such as purchases, location information, contact details (email addresses, phone numbers), user-generated content, search history, browsing history, identifiers, usage data, and diagnostics.
Additionally, Twitter may use data for other purposes, including location information, contact information (email addresses, names, phone numbers), user-generated content (photos or videos), search history, and identifiers not directly linked to users.
For app functionality, Twitter may collect data such as physical addresses, user-generated content (emails or text messages), and other data.
What all data Bluesky collects?
Bluesky is a social networking app that was founded by Jack Dorsey in 2021 as an alternative to Twitter.
Bluesky, in its user data usage, collects specific categories of data for various purposes. Under app functionality, it includes contact information such as email addresses, user-generated content like photos, videos, and customer support-related data. It also involves identifiers like user ID.
In terms of data not linked to the user, Bluesky utilizes analytics for diagnostic purposes, which may involve collecting crash data, performance data, and other diagnostic information. App functionality also includes diagnostics, encompassing crash data, performance data, and other diagnostic data.
Mastodon

Mastodon is a decentralized social media platform that lets you microblog without ads or algorithms. You can join any server that suits your interests and preferences, and follow people from other servers in the fediverse.
An intriguing aspect is that the Mastodon app for iOS operates without collecting any data from your device. However, for Android users, there is a possibility that the app might share your name and email address with other companies.
This feature of Mastodon makes it particularly appealing to users who are concerned about sharing their data with multiple tech giants.
(Please note that the aforementioned information regarding the usage of user data pertains specifically to Apple users. Android users may have different user data usage policies for these applications.)